


Insomnia

by lukesdadvader



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Feels, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 18:17:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12846810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukesdadvader/pseuds/lukesdadvader
Summary: /ɪnˈsɒmnɪə/nounhabitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep.Another sleepless night thanks to the nightmare. This time, Darth Vader confronts his son about his fears. Really fluffy. Mentions of Padmé/Anidala :)Enjoy!





	Insomnia

_Flashes of blue lightning coming out of the Emperor´s hands. Luke sees as they reflect in Palpatine´s hatred- filled eyes, his whole body radiating with darkness. The victim of this outburst of rage is laying on the ground, grasping for breaths. Moments after, the figure of Darth Vader can be seen lifelessly curled up in the corner of the room. Luke can do nothing but watch, he´s paralyzed. With each second, the anger rises within the young boy. He wants to end it. He wants to kill the man tormenting his father. But he can´t. The only thing that changes is the color of his own eyes. When the respirator releases the last exhale of Darth Vader, Luke´s yellow eyes are staring at Palpatine, craving revenge._

„No!“

Luke is awakened by his own scream. The same image has been haunting him in his dreams every night and with each sleep they got more and more detailed. Every time the scenario was more and more clean, as if it was inevitable event in the future, coming closer with each day. The young boy shivered. It felt so real…and that worried him the most.

To reassure himself, he reached out towards his father, searching for the familiar Force signature. It was there, although not as strong as usually. Luke nervously ran his hand through his hair. Why isn´t the presence of the Sith so clear? His look wandered around the room and the answer was submitted immediately. It was 0200, the middle of a sleeping cycle of the Executor. Darth Vader was probably asleep, if he gets sleep after all. Luke has never asked him about it and thinking of it, he didn´t even know whether his Father had a bed in his bedroom. Would he sleep in a bedroom? Or did he have some sort of bed in his hyperbaric chamber?

Luke sighed. He should not be thinking of these things. He should be asleep, getting ready for the upcoming day. Ever since he agreed to overthrow Emperor Palpatine, his father insisted on lightsaber practice every day, and it was getting more and more tiring for the young boy to keep up with the pace Darth Vader had set. Luke kept his sleepless nights as a secret from everyone. The nightmares were too much for him to handle. They always haunted him, not allowing him to get any rest. Instead of sleeping, he tried meditating, leaning on the Force to keep his senses sharp. It worked, for the first few weeks. But then, his body was starting to demand real sleep. Luke´s responses were slow. He always lost to his Father in a practice combat. It was driving them both insane. Every lesson would end up with speech about focus and quick reflexes. The Dark lord was running out of patience and the young boy out of energy. Something had to be done about it.

Taken away by his thoughts, Luke didn´t feel the presence of the Sith nearing him. It was only after he heard the door open when he realized his Father was about to walk in. He quickly gathered his covers and thrown himself onto the bed, facing the wall.

“What is it, young one?” Darth Vader asked, curiously. Luke closed his eyes, trying to fake his sleep, but as he felt that the Dark lord would not be fooled and didn´t seem to be leaving anytime soon, he gasped and turned around.

“It´s a…,” the young boy gulped and swallowed. He did not want to talk about this. He did not want the Sith to see how much he cared about him. He wasn´t ready for a response, for the truth that the feelings were not mutual. Luke felt that the only thing why he was still breathing was the fact that he was a tool to help overthrow the Emperor. Nothing more. He believed that the he wasn´t dead yet just because without him, his Father could never get rid of his master.

“I´ve had a nightmare,” Luke confessed and sat up. Now it was all out. The boy firmly closed his eyes, wishing his Father would just leave and let him be.

Nightmare. Darth Vader remembered all the bad dreams he´s ever had. His mother suffering. His wife, dying in pain in the childbirth. Obi-Wan dying because he wasn´t strong enough to save him. Ahsoka dying by the hands of the Jedi. He remembered how these visions haunted him and how he was told they were just dreams, but some of them had been too real to be ignored. And now his son was experiencing it the way he once had and Vader could only imagine that he was the cause why. The Dark lord clenched his fists as he once again realized that everyone he cared about was suffering.

“What was it about?” the Sith finally asked, standing right in front of Luke menacingly. The boy looked up and hugged his legs with his arms, burying his chin in between his knees.

“Can you please sit down? It creeps me out when you´re hovering above me,” Luke said and gestured for his Father to join him on the bed. The Sith stood still for a few moments, but he knew that his son would not talk until he felt comfortable. After moments of hesitating Vader placed himself on the bed, leaving Luke some space but still sitting relatively close.

“Palpatine kills you and I can do nothing but watch,” the boy blurted out. Darth Vader felt the worry, sadness and fear radiating from Luke´s side of the bond they shared. He was being honest and Vader´s world shattered. Luke cared about him, even after he had cut off his hand, tortured his friends and forced him to join the Empire. Hadn´t the respirator do breathing for him, the Sith would forget to inhale. He was speechless. After all that had happened, the Dark lord found it hard to believe someone would actually _care_ for him.

“This may be an image from the future, son,” Darth Vader replied and carefully picked his following words. “If I´ll perish by my Master´s hands then it´s my destiny. The Emperor will finish your training and after that, you will fulfill yours by overthrowing him.” The Sith turned to see Luke´s reaction. The young boy sat quietly, processing the words he´d heard, tidying up his thoughts.

“You´ve said my destiny lies with you, Father, not the Emperor. Why would you lie to me?” Luke knew that deception was the way of the Dark side, but deep inside he hoped that it didn´t consume his Father completely. He hoped that there was still chance of bringing back the long time buried Anakin Skywalker out of the ashes of Darth Vader´s soul – if he had any left.

The young boy felt anger entering his mind – but it was not his own. It was sparking the fire within the bond he shared with the Sith.

“Luke. I would **never** lie to you. What I said at Cloud City was true. Search your feelings and you´ll know that. We **will** do everything to prevent Palpatine separating us, do you understand? But we may fail.” Vader growled, his words shadowed with his rising temper. Hadn´t his body been burnt by the lava on Mustafar, the fate of Palpatine would be sealed. But all Vader had now was the suit which kept him alive. Alive, but weak. Not strong enough to destroy the Emperor. But now he had his son to stand by his side. It was a chance to finally break free of the chains keeping him bound to his Master. He would make sure that he would not let Palpatine take that from him.

“He took my beloved wife. I won´t let him have you,” the Sith growled and clenched his fists. It was time for him to become the ruler of the universe.

Luke processed his thoughts. Yes, it was rage radiating from his Father, but behind that, in the smallest flickers, in the furthest corner of their bond there was light. Very subtle, very gentle, but it was there. The boy smiled and grasped the Force, letting the light guide him. He laid back to his bed, his head inches from Vader´s thighs. Luke closed his eyes and after days of being in constant stress, he relieved himself. There was a chance that Anakin Skywalker was alive and he would make everything to save him.

As the Dark lord saw what was happening, that his son had found rest, he was about to stand up and leave when he was interrupted by a silent murmur.

“Tell me about her, Father. Tell me about my mother…please.”

There was a silence, as if the Sith was hesitating whether to speak up or stay quiet. He did not want to let Luke down, but the wounds were still, after all these years, fresh and hurt like hell. The memories he had tried to bury for so long flooded his mind, one after another. Her gorgeous smile. Her kindness. Her laugh. Her beautiful eyes…her adorable nose which he recognized in Luke´s features.

“Padmé Naberrie Amidala. The most mesmerizing woman in the whole universe. Fierce and brave. She never gave up and fought for those who couldn´t,” Vader said and ignored the pain that speaking these words aloud brought. Just a few sentences about his mother and he felt as Luke´s side of the bond lighted up with happiness, the same way her eyes did when they confessed love to each other.

Darth Vader was about to continue when his whole body froze. His son had moved his head to rest on the Sith´s lap. This was something unexpected and caught him off guard.

“Please continue, I want to know more about her...and you,” the young boy said and adjusted the blanket to cover up his body. Now it was him who was surprised when he felt fingers caressing the back of his head. The touch was so soft and gentle, something he´d never imagined Vader would be, yet, here it was. The Dark lord´s gloved hand was moving slowly, leaving invisible trails of affection behind.

“She was always eager to help,” the Sith said, getting comfortable with the situation. It was very unusual to have someone near him feel relaxed. Last time he remembered, it was Padmé laying on his lap, rubbing her swollen belly, getting all excited about picking a name for their offspring.

“ and never feared to voice her opinion.” Darth Vader felt his son chuckle. Another sound he thought he´d never hear, yet here it was. And once again, it was very similar to hers.

 _“She reminds me of a friend_.” The boy sent via the bond, now too deep in sleep for these words to be spoken aloud.

Luke pictured Leia and hoped she would forgive him once he returned back to her. He had his chance to escape from the Empire, multiple times, but he couldn´t do that to his Father. He had to save him. He felt his place was here. And now, as he detected the joy glowing behind the black armor of the Sith, he knew it could be done. With these thoughts, the young boy drifted off, finally meeting peace in his dreams.

“…she would have loved you very much, Luke,” Darth Vader said and slowly returned to the present. He thought it would be too painful to come back, to leave her, but complete opposite welcomed him. He looked down and saw his hands resting on the head of his son. Their son. A sigh escaped his lips, the vocoder failing to voice his expression.

Until now, he had no one to live for. After losing Padmé, he had lost his purpose in life. But as he felt the body firmly pressed against him, he had found the belonging he seeked.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this fic, if yes leave a comment, if not, leave constructive criticism below! :)


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